Hi Brian!

It was SO good to spend time with you and your whole family last week! We have been SO blessed that JESUS brought our Tyler as the perfect match for our Kori and with the beautiful grandchildren that HE has provided! We feel the same about our Jennifer as the only one we know who could ever have supported our Trevor through all of his many, many interests and raised their four beautiful girls together! We also know that Nathalie has been the very BEST choice by JESUS as a perfect mate for Nick! But I am also SO personally blessed to see the bond between you and Kristine and the wonderful, talented, beautiful, interesting, lovely and loving young ladies that you are raising! It makes me smile every time we see you all together! So this week I really only want to share this by Charles Spurgeon that gives all the glory and honor for every good thing to JESUS! 

"The Lord is King for ever and ever."— Psalm 10:16

Jesus Christ is no despotic claimant of divine right, but He is really and truly the Lord's anointed! "It hath pleased the Father that in Him should all fulness dwell." God hath given to Him all power and all authority. As the Son of man, He is now head over all things to His church, and He reigns over heaven, and earth, and hell, with the keys of life and death at His girdle. Certain princes have delighted to call themselves kings by the popular will, and certainly our Lord Jesus Christ is such in His church. If it could be put to the vote whether He should be King in the church, every believing heart would crown Him. O that we could crown Him more gloriously than we do! We would count no expense to be wasted that could glorify Christ. Suffering would be pleasure, and loss would be gain, if thereby we could surround His brow with brighter crowns, and make Him more glorious in the eyes of men and angels. Yes, He shall reign. Long live the King! All hail to Thee, King Jesus! Go forth, ye virgin souls who love your Lord, bow at His feet, strew His way with the lilies of your love, and the roses of your gratitude: "Bring forth the royal diadem, and crown Him Lord of all." Moreover, our Lord Jesus is King in Zion by right of conquest: He has taken and carried by storm the hearts of His people, and has slain their enemies who held them in cruel bondage. In the Red Sea of His own blood, our Redeemer has drowned the Pharaoh of our sins: shall He not be King in Jeshurun? He has delivered us from the iron yoke and heavy curse of the law: shall not the Liberator be crowned? We are His portion, whom He has taken out of the hand of the Amorite with His sword and with His bow: who shall snatch His conquest from His hand? All hail, King Jesus! we gladly own Thy gentle sway! Rule in our hearts for ever, Thou lovely Prince of Peace.

Our Prayer for all of you is that HE will show HIMSELF strong, powerful, loving and giving in every situation that you face and that this will be your very BEST and most BLESSED ever so far! Here is one of my favorite songs by Hillsong that I have used many times called "Every Breath":

Love and Shalom from the Swoveys!

Hi Brian!

This week I want to share this great devotional from Joseph Prince's "Daily Grace Insirations". 

A Picture of a Blessed Man

Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, and whose hope is the LORD. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit. Jeremiah 17:7–8

Let’s look at some of the pictures that the Bible paints for us in Jeremiah 17. God’s Word is amazing. He speaks to us through word pictures and imagery in the Bible.

For example, Jeremiah 17:5–6 paints us a picture of a cursed man—“a shrub in the desert.” What a dismal image of a man! A person who is always trusting in himself is like a dried-up shrub, looking old, tired, and haggard.

But thank God the Bible didn’t just stop with the description of the cursed man. It goes on to paint a beautiful picture of a blessed man: “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, and whose hope is the LORD. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit.”

Wow! I know which man I would rather be. Truly, a picture is worth more than a thousand words! I want you to see yourself as this tree planted by the waters today!

When I was on vacation with my wife, Wendy, in the breathtaking Canadian Rockies, we spent a lot of time just roaming around and soaking in the splendor of our heavenly Father’s creation. As we wandered along the bank of a tranquil river that we chanced upon, we found a majestic tree anchored by the water’s edge. Its trunk was sturdy and strong, and its branches stretched out to form a perfect canopy above it. In contrast to the other trees that were further away from the river, its leaves were refreshingly green and luscious. This was because the tree was constantly nourished by the river.

Looking at that impressive, beautiful tree, I couldn’t help but recall the blessed man described in Jeremiah 17, and I remember saying to myself then, “I am like this tree in Jesus’ name!” When you depend on and trust in the Lord, you are like this tree too.

Jesus will cause you to be a picture of robust strength, vitality and good success. See yourself like a beautiful tree planted by the waters. God’s Word says that even when heat comes, you will not fear it!

Did you notice a crucial difference between the blessed man and the cursed man? While the cursed man cannot see good when it comes (Jeremiah 17:6), the blessed man will not fear even when heat comes!

The King James Version says that the blessed man “shall not see when heat cometh.” This is amazing. It means that heat comes even to the blessed man but he is not conscious of seasons of heat, but continues to be strong and to flourish. He will be like a tree whose leaf continues to be green.

When you are like the blessed man, you will be evergreen! This means that you will enjoy divine health, youthfulness, vitality, and dynamism.

When you are blessed, your body will be full of life as the Lord renews your youth and vigor. Your health will not fail you nor will you lose your youth. There will be no stress, fear, and panic attacks because the blessed man “will not be anxious in the year of drought.”

A year of drought speaks of a severe famine, and in our modern vernacular, it would be no different from the global financial meltdown, the subprime crisis, the collapse of global investment banks, the volatile stock markets, and rising inflation. While it may be bad news for the world, the blessed man can remain at rest and not be anxious because God has promised that even in the midst of a crisis, he will not “cease from yielding fruit.”

Beloved, be the blessed man who puts his trust in the Lord and this will also happen to you!

2 Corinthians 1:20 tell us THIS about the promises of God!

For as many as are the promises of God, in Christ they are [all answered] “Yes.” So through Him we say our “Amen” to the glory of God.

With all that is going on in the world right now, we need to keep these promises foremost in our thinking! What God has promised in His Word, He WILL DO! We can count on it! We can count ON HIM! Here is Brandon Lake with a song I have shared before because it is one of my favorites! "Graves Into Gardens"

Love and Shalom from the Swoveys!

Hi Brian!

The word for this week is "awesome". The Scripture we are using is found in Exodus 15:11.

Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, awesome in splendor, doing wonders?  AMP

The KJV says this: 

11 Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders? KJV

This is the Hebrew word "yare'". Strong's Concordance says: to fear, to revere. Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon adds: to stand in awe, to show reverence, to honor,to  respect. Vine's Expository Dictionary says:  This is not simple fear, but reverence, whereby an individual recognizes the power and position of the individual revered and renders him proper respect. Phil Wickham has released a song that takes an older song called "Awesome God" and added lyrics to it that make it even more powerful and relatable for us! Here is that song:

Love and Shalom from the Swoveys!

Hi Brian!

This week I wanted to share this portion of Scripture with you!

Ephesians 2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: 7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. KJV

Here is the Amplified Bible with that same passage:

Ephesians 2:4 But God — so rich is He in His mercy! Because of and in order to satisfy the great and wonderful and intense love with which He loved us, 5 Even when we were dead (slain) by [our own] shortcomings and trespasses, He made us alive together in fellowship and in union with Christ; [He gave us the very life of Christ Himself, the same new life with which He quickened Him, for] it is by grace (His favor and mercy which you did not deserve) that you are saved (delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ's salvation). 6 And He raised us up together with Him and made us sit down together [giving us joint seating with Him] in the heavenly sphere [by virtue of our being] in Christ Jesus (the Messiah, the Anointed One). 7 He did this that He might clearly demonstrate through the ages to come the immeasurable (limitless, surpassing) riches of His free grace (His unmerited favor) in [His] kindness and goodness of heart toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by free grace (God's unmerited favor) that you are saved (delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ's salvation) through [your] faith. And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [of your own doing, it came not through your own striving], but it is the gift of God; 9 Not because of works [not the fulfillment of the Law's demands], lest any man should boast. [It is not the result of what anyone can possibly do, so no one can pride himself in it or take glory to himself.] 10 For we are God's [own] handiwork (His workmanship), recreated in Christ Jesus, [born anew] that we may do those good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us [taking paths which He prepared ahead of time], that we should walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live].  AMP

I love this so much because it shows me that every good thing about US comes directly from GOD when we are comitted to Him and trusting in Him! This means even  more to me concerning your family! We SO appreciate you and Kristine and your beautiful daughters sharing your home with us while you were enjoying time away! It is such a blessing to walk through the door and actually feel the love, peace, grace and even kindness that is in the very atmosphere! You and Kristine have provided such a loving, caring, nurturing space for your girls to grow into the mighty women of God that they are becoming, filled with energy, kindness, creativity, love, enthusiasm, compassion and adventure! It is a complete joy to be praying daily for you all! Thank you for being such a blessing to us! Continuing to pray for your very BEST and most BLESSED year ever so far! We love and appreciate you and can't wait to see you again! Here is one of my favorite  songs that I hope is also a blessing to you! Brooke Ligertwood with "Bless God":

Love and Shalom from the Swoveys!